This invention relates generally to the masking and enlargement of selected portions of photographs and the like. More specifically, the present invention relates to a variable photographic cropping device capable of having both the size and proportions of an aperture adjusted and locked in a selected configuration.
Frequently photographers find it desirable to select only a portion of a print or negative, and to reproduce the selected portion by enlargement. This selection process is referred to as cropping. In the past, enlargements were usually of certain standard dimensions, such as a size and proportion of eight by ten inches. In modern practice, however, the size and proportions of the enlargements can vary widely. To produce an enlargement of a desired size and proportion, it is necessary that the smaller selected area be of the same height-to-width proportions.
It is well known to crop a photograph by employing two L-shaped plates to form a substantially rectangular mask. The two plates are placed upon the print and shifted in relative position until the desired size and shape is obtained. The print is outlined along the inner edge of the positioned plates. The accuracy of this technique in proportioning can be only approximate and is dependent upon the skill and care of the operator. Although this cropping technique may be relatively inaccurate and time-consuming, it is possible to obtain any size and proportion of a selected area.
The accuracy of proportioning the selected area of a print is improved by providing a positive control. In the past, two masks have been provided which each have an aperture with sides and ends of the desired proportion. The print to be cropped is placed in the aperture of one mask and the overlapping mask is guided on tracks along a line joining the apexes of opposite angles of the two masks. A fixed ratio of side-to-end of the selected area of the print is thus maintained. Although this type of prior cropper provides a quick and accurate means for selecting and proportioning an area of a print, it is not possible to select more than one height-to-width proportion. Exemplary of such prior devices is U.S. Pat. No. 2,246,920.
An improved prior cropping device utilizes one mask as a slide positioned within a sheath with two open ends. The sheath forms the other mask. The slide is positively controlled to move in the sheath and in the direction of a line joining opposite corners of apertures in the masks. By moving the slide to adjust the relative position of two like-proportioned corners, one of the slide and one of the sheath, the size of the selected print area may be determined according to one predetermined proportion. A second predetermined proportion may be obtained by removing the slide from the sheath, inverting it, and reinserting it into the sheath. An example of such a device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,709,591.
Although each of these prior devices, and similar related cropping apparatuses, permit the size of the selected print area to be infinitely varied within preset parameters, the height-to-width proportion cannot likewise be varied. Thus, if an unusual print area proportion is desired, many prior devices must be discarded in favor of manually employing two L-shaped plates to form a rectangular mask of the desired proportions.
Accordingly, there has been a need for a novel cropping device for photographs and the like, which provides a substantially rectilinear aperture for overlying a selected print area, which aperture can be selectively adjusted to vary the height-to-width proportions thereof as well as the size of the aperture. Additionally, there exists a need for a cropping device for photographs and the like, which is easily understood and simple to operate, and allows the proportion of the aperture to be pre-selected and fixed, while permitting the size of the aperture to be adjusted. Further, such a cropping device is needed which allows the size of the aperture to be fixed, while permitting the height-to-width proportion thereof to be varied. Such a cropping device should be of a simplified design and construction, permitting economical manufacture of the device. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.